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Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Al Jazeera
Axing of The Late Show reveals how monopolisation has gutted US media
CBS' recent cancellation of the popular The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is yet another case of heavy‑handed political and corporate meddling in the role of media in the US. It occurred just three days after the comedian and talk show host criticised CBS's parent company Paramount for settling a multimillion‑dollar lawsuit with Trump, with Colbert calling that settlement 'a bribe'. In its announcement, CBS stated it will end The Late Show after May 2026 due to a declining audience, marking the end of a 33‑year run for the live‑audience series. But, lower Nielsen ratings or not, the timing of Paramount's move to cancel one of its signature series may itself prove that the decision was about more than profit. It cannot be ignored that within a few days of both moves, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) finally approved the Skydance‑Paramount merger after months of stalling, an $8bn deal that will add to the mountain of monopolistic moves in US media. 'This is pure cowardice,' David Letterman, The Late Show's previous host from 1993 to 2015, said of Paramount's recent decisions to cancel the show and settle the Trump lawsuit. The US news media's never‑ending coverage of everything Trump over the past decade and the constant back‑and‑forth over his politics, policies and practices have played a significant role in its decline. As the US lurches ever closer towards autocracy, the Fourth Estate has increasingly taken on the role of stenographer, with its normalisation of lies, gossip, craven policies and corruption as 'disinformation' and 'misinformation'. But the age of Trump is just the tip of the iceberg. The combination of constant realignment to ingratiate media corporations with the political class, along with their monopolisation of media in the US over the past 45 years, has simply devastated the field. This retrenchment has severely skewed news coverage and destroyed the idea of a free press. The landscape of US media began evolving with the gradual deregulation of both media ownership and the scope of editorial freedom in the 1980s. After 40 years of what was once the Fairness Doctrine in US media law (requiring multimedia broadcasters to air opposing views on topics of national importance, not just one perspective), the FCC voted to abolish the requirement in 1987. This came after Congress had failed to override President Ronald Reagan's veto of their attempt to codify the doctrine in a bill. Attempts to re‑establish the Fairness Doctrine have failed over the years, including the Restore the Fairness Doctrine Act that the now Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard sponsored in 2019. That bill never made it to the House floor for a vote. In a truly bipartisan effort during the 1990s, many of the remaining regulations that protected US media from monopolisation and the influence of billionaires and mega‑corporations were dismantled. The lobbyist‑influenced Telecommunications Act of 1996 made its way through Congress with overwhelming support, with only 16 'No' votes out of 430 in the House of Representatives, and five voting 'No' out of 96 in the Senate. The deregulations, intended to foster more competition between media corporations and their multimedia platforms, actually did the opposite by extending media monopolisation. Between 1983 and 2015, the number of corporations that collectively owned 90 percent of the entire US media market fell from 'more than 50 to just six companies', including books, newspapers, magazines, mobile and cable television, internet and music, films and professional athletic teams. In the years since, between Viacom's ownership of CBS and Paramount and Amazon's huge foray into streaming services and multimedia productions, five megacorporations now control 90 percent of all US media. The Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch became a key figure in the monopolisation of US media in all its forms, buying stakes in the New York Post and founding the tabloid paper Star. In 1985, the FCC approved the deal that allowed Murdoch to buy 20th Century Fox and acquire Fox broadcast stations. This occurred after Murdoch had become a naturalised US citizen, as federal regulations at that time limited foreign ownership of and investment in broadcasting. Eleven years later, and just months after the Telecommunications Act of 1996's passage, Murdoch and media executive Roger Ailes founded Fox News under the ironically deceptive slogan 'Fair and Balanced'. With the Fairness Doctrine gone and the need to provide balanced media coverage removed, Fox News' decidedly biased far‑right slant was deliberate, built solely for profit. 'People don't want to be informed, they want to feel informed,' the late Ailes apparently said more than once in justifying Fox News' approach to news coverage. In recent years, with billionaires buying major news outlets like The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal and dictating editorial decisions, Americans have long lost trust in the Fourth Estate. Monopolisation and the business pressures that have come with it have led to 'fewer journalists, thinner reporting, and increasingly desperate advertising content' over the past three decades. Combined with the rise of social media over television and internet media sites as the number one way Americans get their news (54 percent vs 50 percent and 48 percent, respectively), this trend is telling. There are no signs that monopolisation and biased, fact‑reduced and fact‑free media coverage will stop any time soon. Murdoch's approach of using deregulation to build a monopoly and usher in the age of fact‑free journalism helped set off this buying frenzy, with profit prioritised over fairness every step of the way. By the end of the 1980s, the reign of conservative and far‑right radio talk shows had begun, with the late Rush Limbaugh leading the pack with his nationally syndicated The Rush Limbaugh Show. His constant barrage of racism, sexism, queerphobia and other hyper‑masculine talking points became an echo chamber for about 15 million listeners for the next 30 years. Although centre‑left radio programming like Air America made minor inroads in the 2000s, progressive ventures have often fizzled out. They have frequently lacked sufficient financial support and political protection in an increasingly monopolised and ideologically skewed media world. At the height of MSNBC's 'Lean Forward' days, when critics saw its merely centrist political news coverage between 2010 and 2016 as 'liberal', its executives denied MSNBC was the leftist equivalent of Fox News. Phil Griffin, who ran MSNBC from 2008 through early 2021, once said, 'No. We don't put out talking points all day' like Fox News. 'Corporations are … like sharks. They just move toward the money. That's all they do,' one former executive for the news organisation said. In 2016, eugenicist tech billionaire Peter Thiel essentially destroyed the progressive tabloid Gawker. Furious that Gawker had outed him as queer in 2007, Thiel helped the late wrestler Hulk Hogan win a $140m lawsuit against Gawker for its publication of his sex tape. It is often said that good journalism reflects the happenings of the world like a mirror, without bias and with every effort to expose the truth behind news events. If this is truly the definition of what makes good journalism, then US journalism has been staring into a mirror with a multitude of fractures for decades. In 2025, it is not just that many Americans do not believe in the media they consume or only believe the news when it fits their personal narrative. Many in the US know that the nation's media regularly peddles lies, half‑truths and gossip in a never‑ending search for easy profit, all while dumbing down their consumers. Reporting on the spread of autocratic rule, calling out complicity in genocide, or interrogating the ethics of billionaires and mega‑corporations in a monopolised media world? Any efforts towards fairness and truth can easily cost anyone in the media their job, or worse, even someone as influential as Stephen Colbert. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.
CNN
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Jay Leno says political comedy can alienate audiences: ‘I don't think anybody wants to hear a lecture'
Jay Leno is happy standing in the middle of the aisle as far as political humor goes. During a recent conversation with David Trulio for The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the former late-night host spoke about some of the risks that can come with mixing politics and comedy. 'I like to think that people come to a comedy show to kind of get away from the things, the pressures of life, wherever it might be,' Leno told Trulio. 'And I love political humor, don't get me wrong, but what happens (is) people wind up cozying too much to one side or the other.' Leno then asked, 'Why shoot for just half an audience, why not try to get the whole (audience)?' 'I mean, I like to bring people into the big picture. I don't understand why you would alienate one particular group. Or just don't do it at all,' he said. 'I'm not saying you have to throw your support or whatever, but just just do what's funny.' His ethos then and now is simply just, 'Funny is funny,' he said, adding, 'I don't think anybody wants to hear a lecture.' Leno's interview with Trulio appears to have been conducted prior to CBS announcing the cancellation of 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.' CNN has reached out to a representative for Leno for comment. CBS announced earlier this month that the network was cancelling 'The Late Show,' a late night program that has been on the air since David Letterman hosted it in 1993. Colbert took over as host in 2015. The show will end in the spring of 2026. The network cited financial reasons for the move, but there have been questions about the timing of the announcement given Colbert's previous criticism of President Donald Trump and the recent settlement between the Trump administration and Paramount, the parent company of CBS, over a lawsuit involving '60 Minutes.' There were also questions about the move coming amid Skydance Media's $8 billion acquisition of Paramount, which required and recently received approval from federal regulators. Leno hosted 'The Tonight Show' on NBC from 1992 to 2009 before Conan O'Brien took over. Jimmy Fallon has served as host of the program since 2014. Fallon, along with other current late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver, Jon Stewart and Seth Meyers, all of whom are known to be critical of the Trump administration on their respective programs, voiced support for Colbert following the CBS announcement.
CNN
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Jay Leno says political comedy can alienate audiences: ‘I don't think anybody wants to hear a lecture'
Jay Leno is happy standing in the middle of the aisle as far as political humor goes. During a recent conversation with David Trulio for The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the former late-night host spoke about some of the risks that can come with mixing politics and comedy. 'I like to think that people come to a comedy show to kind of get away from the things, the pressures of life, wherever it might be,' Leno told Trulio. 'And I love political humor, don't get me wrong, but what happens (is) people wind up cozying too much to one side or the other.' Leno then asked, 'Why shoot for just half an audience, why not try to get the whole (audience)?' 'I mean, I like to bring people into the big picture. I don't understand why you would alienate one particular group. Or just don't do it at all,' he said. 'I'm not saying you have to throw your support or whatever, but just just do what's funny.' His ethos then and now is simply just, 'Funny is funny,' he said, adding, 'I don't think anybody wants to hear a lecture.' Leno's interview with Trulio appears to have been conducted prior to CBS announcing the cancellation of 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.' CNN has reached out to a representative for Leno for comment. CBS announced earlier this month that the network was cancelling 'The Late Show,' a late night program that has been on the air since David Letterman hosted it in 1993. Colbert took over as host in 2015. The show will end in the spring of 2026. The network cited financial reasons for the move, but there have been questions about the timing of the announcement given Colbert's previous criticism of President Donald Trump and the recent settlement between the Trump administration and Paramount, the parent company of CBS, over a lawsuit involving '60 Minutes.' There were also questions about the move coming amid Skydance Media's $8 billion acquisition of Paramount, which required and recently received approval from federal regulators. Leno hosted 'The Tonight Show' on NBC from 1992 to 2009 before Conan O'Brien took over. Jimmy Fallon has served as host of the program since 2014. Fallon, along with other current late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver, Jon Stewart and Seth Meyers, all of whom are known to be critical of the Trump administration on their respective programs, voiced support for Colbert following the CBS announcement.
Al Bawaba
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Al Bawaba
David Letterman blasts CBS for ‘Killing' Stephen Colbert to appease Trump
ALBAWABA - David Letterman slams CBS over Stephen Colbert's firing and Trump settlement. Comedy legend David Letterman joined other late-night shows in criticizing CBS News for ending "The Late Show" after more than 30 years, while calling host Stephen Colbert a "martyr." It was Letterman, the first host of the show, who said that the choice to cancel it was "gutless." He was referring to the recent $16 million settlement between CBS's parent company, Paramount Global, and the Trump administration and the company's planned merger with entertainment giant Skydance. US TV host David Letterman (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) He talked with his old "Late Show" producers Barbara Gaines and Mary Barclay in a recorded conversation. "I think one day, if not today, the people at CBS who have manipulated and handled this are going to be embarrassed because this is gutless," he said. "I wish this would happen to me." I really wish this had worked out for me. Paramount said the decision was "purely a financial decision" and had nothing to do with how well the show did or what it was about. Letterman, along with other press supporters and some Democrats, didn't seem happy with that answer. "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" (Photo by John Nacion / Getty Images via AFP) The former host of "Late Night" instead blamed what he called the "Oracle twins." He was talking about billionaire Larry Ellison and his son David Ellison, who will lead the "New Paramount" now that the Federal Communications Commission has approved Skydance's purchase of the company. The union ought to be finished by August 7. "These thugs are not fair at all," Letterman said, adding, "These guys are bottom feeders." Indeed, that's what it is. "Of course, they know that broadcast TV is dying, so now they want to make sure they're not buying something that's worth less tonight than it was 30 years ago." Continuing, he said, "They don't want to deal with the US government." "So they want CBS to clean up that mess." The comedian also called CBS's choice to settle with Trump after he sued them over an interview with Harris while he was running for president in 2024 "pure cowardice." Big names in late-night TV, like Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart, and Seth Meyers, have spoken out in support of Colbert, who has been vocal about his worries about Paramount's recent choices. It was the same with Letterman. "This is great, Stephen. He's a hero. "That's good for him, right?" he asked his old bosses. Afterward, he joked, "Now we all have to kiss Stephen Colbert's ring." "And if you pay close attention, you can hear them setting up chairs at the Hall of Fame for his induction, right?" It's been back and forth between Colbert and Trump since he took over for Letterman in 2015. "I love it so much that Colbert was fired." In a post on Truth Social earlier this week, the president said, "His talent was even less than his ratings." This was after the company said it would end the show in May 2026. The funny man said, "How dare you, sir." Would a man who isn't very good at writing be able to come up with the mocking witticism "Go f‑‑ yourself"?
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
David Letterman blasts CBS and Paramount for canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: ‘Pure cowardice'
David Letterman has slammed CBS and Paramount for canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Letterman, who created the late night show over three decades ago, accused CBS of 'pure cowardice,' Fox News reported. David Letterman created The Late Show nearly 32 years ago(AP) Appearing on The Barbara Gaines Show, a podcast hosted by his former executive producer, David Letterman said he did not believe the claim that Stephen Colbert's was canceled for financial reasons. The comedian also talked about Paramount's $16 million settlement with US President Donald Trump and theorized that the deal was linked to The Late Show's cancellation. This is not the first time the television host has slammed CBS' decision. The 78-year-old posted a montage of him roasting CBS throughout the years after The Late Show's cancellation was announced. David Letterman slams CBS and Paramount "This is pure cowardice," Letterman said about CBS and Paramount's decision. "They did not do the correct thing. They did not handle Stephen Colbert — the face of that network — in the way he deserves to have been handled," he explained. Also Read: David Letterman takes a dig at CBS after cancellation of Stephen Colbert's Late Show He questioned the claims of the financial losses that Colbert's show was reportedly facing. "I'll bet they were losing this kind of money a month ago. I'll bet they were losing this kind of money six weeks ago. Or they have never been losing money," the television host claimed. David Letterman on Paramount's settlement with Donald Trump Letterman also spoke his mind on Paramount's decision to settle with Trump over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. The move came ahead of Paramount's merger with Skydance. On Thursday, federal regulators stated that they had voted to approve the merger, valued at $8 billion. Furthermore, Skydance CEO David Ellison has promised to eliminate all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs at Paramount, NPR reported. Skydance has not denied Trump's claims that the network will run public service announcements worth $20 million that were consistent with his ideological beliefs. David Letterman said that Skydance Media, which would soon be the new owners of Paramount, wanted to avoid any trouble with Trump, which is why they got rid of Colbert, who is an outspoken critic of the president, before the acquisition. As per Fox News, the chat show host David Ellison, as "the Oracle twins" on the podcast. Also Read: Joaquin Phoenix regrets his infamous David Letterman interview: 'It was horrible and uncomfortable' "The Ellison twins, the Oracle boys, they don't want any trouble along the lines of freedom of the press or free speech or freedom of expression," David Letterman claimed. "They don't want to get their hands dirty. They don't want the government going after them, because that concept of freedom of the press and freedom of speech — that's so old-fashioned," he explained. FAQs What did David Letterman say about the cancellation of Stephen Colbert's show? He called it an act of 'pure cowardice.' Was David Letterman part of The Late Show? Yes, he was the creator of the series. When will the last episode of Stephen Colbert's show air? The show will end in 2026.
